Trolling motor mounting bracket

ABSTRACT

A trolling motor mounting bracket adapted to be permanently affixed to a boat and adapted to pivotally mount a trolling motor outboard of the boat whereby the trolling motor may be raised to a horizontal stored position or lowered to a vertical drive position. The bracket also permits the mounting of variousdimensioned trolling motors to the boat.

United States Patent inventor Donald L. Wilkerson 739 Lily Flagg Drive, Huntsville, Ala. 35802 Appl. No. 25,318

Filed Apr. 3, 1970 Patented Sept. 14, 1971 TROLLING MOTOR MOUNTING BRACKET 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 248/4, 1 15/ 1 7 Int. Cl B63h 21/26 Field of Search 248/4, 291;

References Cited Primary Examiner-J.

Franklin Foss Attorney-C. A. Phillips ABSTRACT: A trolling motor mounting bracket adapted to be permanently affixed to a boat and adapted to pivotally mount a trolling motor outboard of the boat whereby the trolling motor may be raised to a horizontal stored position or lowered to a vertical drive position. The bracket also permits the mounting of various-dimensioned trolling motors to the boat.

ATENTED SEP] 4 L9H Donald L.Wilkerson, INVUNTOR.

FIG. 3

TROLLING MOTOR MOUNTING BRACKET This invention relates to mounting means for auxiliary electric outboard motor drive units, generally referred to as trolling motors, and commonly used by fishermen to propel a small boat at low speeds.

Auxiliary electric outboard motor drive units of this type typically comprise: an electric outboard motor of the submersible type having a propeller mounted on the projecting end of the drive shaft of the motor, and a vertically elongated pipe having its lower end connected to the motor, its upper end provided with a steering handle, and its intermediate portion secured by some type of mounting means. The mounting means included with the driveunit usually include a horizontally drilled arm or sleeve for swivel mounting to a boat bracket and a vertically movable pin for locking the drive unit in a vertical, drive position, to the boat bracket.

Trolling motors are made by perhaps 20 or more manufacturers and there are, of course, dimensional and structural differences between makes. Accordingly, a boat manufacturer or boat distributor, must, or should be able to provide a mounting bracket adaptable to mount any or most of the different trolling motors to a given motor.

This invention has as an object to provide a mounting bracket for trolling motors which is rugged but of simpler design than other known types. A further object of this invention is to provide a bracket which is substantially universal in application to, that is, is adaptable to mount trolling motors of a number of designs and dimensions.

These objects of my invention are met by a bracket constructed as follows:

A. a mounting plate is made of metal and of sufficient size to be securely attached horizontally to the gunwale of a boat,

8. two parallel arms extend outward from an edge of the plate, which edge conforms the outer edge of the gunwale on which the plate is mounted. These arms also extend upward and include aligned openings which are adapted to receive a shaft which in turn supports the trolling mo- I01,

C. a vertical leg is securely attached to the outer edge of the mounting plate and it extends downward to provide support for D. an outwardly extending arm which has a vertical recess for receiving a retractable locking pin from the trolling motor to lock the motor in a vertical, or drive position or, to allow the motor to be swung back to a horizontal, or stored position.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description when considered together with the'drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention coupling a boat and trolling motor;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view with the trolling motor in a vertical, or drive position; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view with the trolling motor in a horizontal, or stored position.

Referring now to the drawings, the complete bracket shown is designated by the numeral 10. It consists basically of horizontal plate 12, shaft-supporting arms 14 and 16, vertical leg 18 and L-shaped arm 20. As shown, bracket 10 is mounted on the gunwale 22 of boat 24 and it supports trolling motor 26.

Plate 12, arms 14 and 16 and vertical leg 18 are typically constructed of a single casting e.g. of aluminum. Plate 12 is rectangular and of approximately equal width and length, e.g. inches in length along edge 28 and 4% inches in width along width 29. Good rigidity with this configuration is obtained with a thickness of about three-eights inch. Bracket is attached to boat 24 by bolts 30, 31 and 32 through holes drilled through plate 12 and gunwale 22, at the time of installation.

Shaft-supporting arms 14 and 16 extend outward and upward and include horizontal holes 34 and 36 which are aligned to receive L-shaped shaft v38,-which supports motor 26 on' bracket 10. Pin 40 provides a safety latch to secure shaft 38 in place. To accommodate differentwidths of mounting arms 42, selected width bushings 4 4 are? attached, when needed, by bolts 46 and 48 to arms 14 and 16, respectively.

L-shaped arm 20 includes a slot 50 through which locking bolt 52 is passed into vertical leg 18 and in this manner arm 20 is supported at the proper elevation to receive inhole 54,

locking pin 56 of motor 26. Movement of arm 20 is restricted to vertical movement by slot 58 which meshes with ridge or raised surface 60 on leg 18 to thus maintain positional alignment of hole 54 with a pin 56.

To install motor 26, shaft 38 is removed, hole 62 of arm 42 of motor 26 is aligned with holes 34 and 36 and shaft 38 reinserted as shown. In the resting or storage position, motor 26 is laid back in a generally horizontally position as shown in FIG. 3. Next, bolt 52 is loosened and L-shaped arm 20 moved to its lowermost position. Motor 26 is then tilted to a vertical position and arm 20 moved up until locking pin 56 passes into hole 54. This thus determines the position for arm 20, and bolt 52 is tightened with the result that motor 26 is ready for use as shown in FIG. 2.

To move motor 26 from an operating position, pin 56 is raised against spring 64 out of hole 54 and the motor tilted forward until it rests in the position shown in FIG. 3. Of course then to remove motor 26 from bracket 10 it is only necessary to remove pin 40 and shaft 38.

Bracket 10 thus provides in a simple but rugged structure a trolling motor mounting bracket which is easy to install and use and which accommodates a number of different-type motors wherein arm 42 may vary in size and the vertical position of pin 56 may vary. Experience indicates that the configuration is adaptable to take care of most trolling motors now available. Once arm 20 is set and bushings 44 positioned (if needed), no further adjustments are necessary when mounting or dismounting a given motor.

What is claimed is:

l. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit on a boat and for accommodating said drive unit in either a drive position, wherein it is submerged, or in a storage position, out of the water, comprising:

A. a mounting plate adapted to be horizontally mounted on the gunwale of a boat and including an edge adapted to be positioned adjacent an outer edge of the gunwale;

B. first and second arms mounted on said edge of said mounting plate, said arms being spaced apart and extending in a generally parallel relation outward and upward from said mounting plate and gunwale, said arms having an aligned opening position to receive a horizontally oriented shaft extending between said openings, whereby a said drive unit is pivotably supported by said shaft on said arms;

C. a vertical leg extending from said edge of said mounting plate and adapted to extend downward over the outer side of a boat; and

D..a third arm supported by and extending outward from said vertical leg (and including a recess positioned to receive a locking pin adapted to secure) to support a said motor drive unit in a drive position; wherein a said motor drive unit is pivotally mounted about an axis outboard of a boat and readily operated between a vertical (locked) drive position and a horizontal stored position, and wherein said vertical leg and said third arm include coating means for locked positioning of said third arm with respect to said vertical leg at selected levels.

2. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit as set forth in claim 1 therein said coacting means comprise interlocking surfaces of said vertical leg and third arm.

3. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein:

A. said vertical leg includes a raised and vertically extending ridge; and

B.-said third arm includes a vertically extending slot adapted to mate with said ridge.

first and second arms, respectively, and including openings for receiving said shaft to support varying-dimensioned drive units horizontally between said first and second arms.

6. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor unit as set forth in claim 4 further comprising a shaft adapted to be.

inserted through openings in said first and second arms and including locking means for locking said shaft in position. 

1. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit on a boat and for accommodating said drive unit in either a drive position, wherein it is submerged, or in a storage position, out of the water, comprising: A. a mounting plate adapted to be horizontally mounted on the gunwale of a boat and including an edge adapted to be positioned adjacent an outer edge of the gunwale; B. first and second arms mounted on said edge of said mounting plate, said arms being spaced apart and extending in a generally parallel relation outward and upward from said mounting plate and gunwale, said arms having an aligned opening position to receive a horizontally oriented shaft extending between said openings, whereby a said drive unit is pivotably supported by said shaft on said arms; C. a vertical leg extending from said edge of said mounting plate and adapted to extend downward over the outer side of a boat; and D. a third arm supported by and extending outward from said vertical leg (and including a recess positioned to receive a locking pin adapted to secure) to support a said motor drive unit in a drive position; wherein a said motor drive unit is pivotally mounted about an axis outboard of a boat anD readily operated between a vertical (locked) drive position and a horizontal stored position, and wherein said vertical leg and said third arm include coating means for locked positioning of said third arm with respect to said vertical leg at selected levels.
 2. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit as set forth in claim 1 therein said coacting means comprise interlocking surfaces of said vertical leg and third arm.
 3. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein: A. said vertical leg includes a raised and vertically extending ridge; and B. said third arm includes a vertically extending slot adapted to mate with said ridge.
 4. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein said third arm includes a vertically extending elongated opening and said means for locked positioning includes a bolt adapted to extend through said opening and extend into said vertical leg.
 5. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor drive unit as set forth in claim 4 further comprising first and second bushings adapted to be affixed to and removable from said first and second arms, respectively, and including openings for receiving said shaft to support varying-dimensioned drive units horizontally between said first and second arms.
 6. A bracket for mounting an electric outboard motor unit as set forth in claim 4 further comprising a shaft adapted to be inserted through openings in said first and second arms and including locking means for locking said shaft in position. 